By AMELIO RODRIGUEZ
Vigilant/Argus

NILES – The Brandywine Bobcats girls’ basketball team played host to the Eddies of Edwardsburg in the last regular season game of the year.

Brandywine pulled away to a 61-46 victory finishing the regular season with a 19-1 record and a 12-0 mark in the Lakeland Conference.

It was Senior Night at Brandywine and you would figure a team with a 19-1 record would have their fair share of seniors. However, the Lady ‘Cats have only two – Nicole Newman and Michaela Greer.

It was Greer that would get the evening started for the Bobcats as she banked in a 3-pointer from the left wing opening the flood gates for all the scoring that would follow.

Edwardsburg, which came into the game in second place in the conference with an 8-3 mark and 11-8 overall, gave Brandywine all it wanted in the first quarter, trailing only 19-12 after eight minutes of play.

In the first quarter Brandywine was led by Kelsey Prestly with six points, while the Eddies were paced by Rachel Vite with seven of her game-high 24.

The second quarter belonged to the home team.

In front of a big crowd, the Bobcats would put another 22 points on the board, doubling Edwardsburg’s  11 points and extended their lead to 18 at the intermission, 41-23.

Carlie Newman, who came into the game tied with Stephanie Crocker for Brandywine’s career 3-point field goal mark, scored 12 of her 17 points in the second quarter as she knocked down four of her five 3-pointers during a 28-11 Brandywine run that put the Eddies in a big hole.

Newman now stands alone with that record as she currently stands at 93 and she is only a sophomore.

“It feels good. I’ve just been working hard since I was little and it’s a big accomplishment only being a sophomore and the record was done in four years. I’m just happy to get it done now,” said Newman, when asked after the game about the record.

Edwardsburg would outscore Brandywine 23-20 over the final two periods of play, but the damage had already been done.

Brandywine was led by Lauren Leonard with 18 points, Newman with 17 and Prestly with 14.

The Eddies’ only double-digit scorer was Vite, while Sarah D’Amico and Emily Kozinski each chipped in with eight.

After the game, Brandywine cut down the net as it celebrated its first conference championship since 1989.

“This is what we envisioned the first day of practice in November. We looked up at the banner and we talked about bringing the conference championship back where it belongs, and I was just really proud of the girls. Any time that you can go undefeated in a conference you have to battle and our girls battle every night and the end result is a conference championship for them,” commented Bobcat coach Josh Hood about his team’s season after the game.

Edwardsburg captured the junior varsity contest 41-29.

Mikayla Kemp led the Bobcats with 11 points. Ellie Price added seven.

EDWARDSBURG 46
Rachel Vite 7 10-12 24, Mariah Murphy 2 0-0 4, Emily Kozinski 4 0-0 8, Ashley Streb 0 2-2 2, Leslie Boyles 0 0-1 0, Sarah D’Amico 3 0-0 8, Jill Blough 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 16 12-15 46
BRANDYWINE 61
Kelsey Prestly 6 2-2 14, Michaela Greer 1 0-0 3, Lauren Leonard 8 2-2 18, Nicole Newman 0 0-0 0, Carlie Newman 6 0-0 17, Morgan Smallwood 1 0-0 2, Madison Pellow 2 1-3 5, Mackenzie Shelton 1 0-0 2. TOTALS: 25 5-7 61

Edwardsburg 12 23 39 46
Brandywine 19 41 55 61
3-point baskets: Edwardsburg 2 (D’Amico), Brandywine 6 (C. Newman 5, Greer). Total fouls: Edwardsburg 11, Brandywine 15. Fouled out: None. Varsity records: Edwardsburg 11-9, 8-4 Lakeland
; Brandywine 19-1, 12-0 Lakeland